Project type:
Service design school project
Mentored by:
Dan Mikkin
Collaborators:
Estonian National Library’s service designers
Year:
2023
My responsibilities:
preliminary research
conducting user interviews
analysis
ideation
persona development design concept development.
Estonian National Library’s next chapter
The Brief
First observation:
Working age users are under-represented in libraries
Estonian National Library, currently under renovation, is planning to reopen in 2025. In order to rewrite its closed-off image and start a new chapter as a library of the future that is open for all, it was necessary to create innovative, engaging and forward-looking services.
Digging into existing research done by the National Library and paying visits to local libraries to get an overview of who actually uses them, we observed that working age adults are underrepresented.
This can be explained with busy work schedules, family life and satisfying their curiosity and need for entertainment with a multitude of things. Essentially, working adults do not have a good reason to go to the library.
Okay, but why? Can this be turned around?
Insight 1:
Working adults are curious, they want to learn, experience and expand - but aren’t sure where to start.
We interviewed working adults who are not regular library users and those who are to understand their relationship with them. As busy people they value convenience and efficiency, but prioritising these aspects leads to sameness - spending time at home or at the same bars, with the same people, picking titles from a selection that an algorithm suggests. We picked on a note of “wanting more than that” or “something different”, but there was ambiguity around what it could be.
Insight 2:
The National Library is “not for me”
The interviews revealed that even though many had at some point of their life been users of the national library as students, it has an unwelcoming image that persists to this day. It is seen as a place for academics and researchers, it has strict house rules. It is perceived as a place that is very objective-driven. Stepping in to browse or to do some work on your laptop is not considered. At all.
If there is an image problem and a disconnect with the potential user group, the focus should be on bridging these gaps.
So what’s missing from the lives of working adults that could be provided by the National Library?
My theory is - inspiration
What if the library was an inspirational third place for working adults?
The design concept
The 3 pillars of The Source
The Source is a curated pop-up exhibition space on the National Library's F3 which is brought to life in collaboration with figures from Estonian cultural landscape while making the best of library's existing and new services and assets.
The key idea is to provide inspiration that might be lacking in the daily routine. Inspiration can come from:
My personal take-away
Back
Service design is a long-term strategic endeavour. New and cool is nice, but building a future should start with taking a hard look at the current situation.
The project brief was about developing services for the National Library’s future. The process however revealed that the library is struggling with an image problem that is unlikely to be solved by introducing cool tech like 3D printers. Some steps, such as renewing their branding, have already been taken to make the library’s image more approachable, but this is just one of the first in a long-term strategy. In the National Library’s case service design should not only concentrate in developing library 2.0 but also has the potential to contribute to tackling preconceptions that are barriers for potential users. Tying this into designing services is key to putting The National Library back on the users’ radar.
New settings
Letting the mind wander
Other people’ stories
1
The space - A shape shifting curated hideaway for adults
The space is a small scale hideout that is partially separated on the 3F open floor where the user can get comfortable and spend time. The design of the shape changes early in collaboration with designers, artists and architects.
2
The exhibit - Inspiring stories and experiences
The regularly changing exhibition focuses on a person who is active on the Estonian cultural landscape. The objective is to exhibit items (pulled from the National Library collection) and memorabilia that have inspired the person that the exhibit focuses on.
The design principles
1
Create a space where spontaneous exploration is encouraged.
2
Amplify and update its role in the Estonian cultural landscape through collaborations
3
Maximise the National Library's vast existing assets while introducing its future functions in a systematic way
Inside the exhibit, there are bookmarks that guide the user to explore other titles in the Library's collection but also introduce new services that it will launch. The references in bookmarks have a humorous tone - these are related and semi-related to the items exhibited in the space.
3
The bookmark system - Encouraging further exploration
